Despite its divisive reputation, Fortnite is here to stay. The game has proven that it is not a simple fad by maintaining a sizeable playerbase, along with more than 100,000 viewers on average on popular streaming websites like Twitch. From its initial conception as a zombiesque survival co-op game to the massive success of its battle royale mode that was released back in 2017, Fortnite has seen its fair share of changes over the years.
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While some changes are relatively minor, such as expanding the item shop, others redefined Fortnite as something more than just a game by introducing an entire social hub for players to hangout and attend virtual movie screenings and concerts.
10 Greatly Expanded Item Shop
While the item shop might seem overwhelming nowadays, with a constant rotation of featured and daily items, along with special offers and bundles, it wasn't always that way.
In the early days of Fortnite, the item shop had a whooping two featured items and six dailies, a far cry from the rows and columns of items players are used to today. Over time, the item shop gradually expanded to include more items, along with rotating items in and out more frequently to compensate for the constant supply of new skins being added to the game.
9 Tamable Animals
One of the main gimmicks of Chapter 2, Season 6 was its introduction of tamable wildlife to the game, including wolves, chickens and boars. Sharks were also temporarily in the game from Chapter 2, Season 3 until the end of Season 5.
Prior to this, animals were not part of the game. However, the eventual inclusion of NPCs, minions, bosses and the aforementioned animals into the game changed Fortnite's gameplay significantly, giving players more to watch out for than just enemy players.
8 Hostile NPCs And Bosses
Chapter 2, Season 2 marked a major turning point in the game with its introduction of factions with their own minions and boss characters.
While initially a controversial decision, players eventually became accustomed to fighting against NPCs and taking advantage of the bosses' exclusive weapons. While minions and bosses have a large health pool and surprisingly good aim, they are limited by their lack of building and AI which is obviously not as intelligent as a real player.
7 Implementing Bots And Skill-Based Matchmaking
Yet another controversial decision, skill-based matchmaking dramatically changed how Fortnite was played. It essentially led to less variation in the skill of all players in a match, which is helpful for beginners but was met with much contempt by high-level and pro players, as it made winning high kill games significantly more difficult.
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Around the same time, discussions of 'bot lobbies' began circulating the community, which entailed creating a new account and entering a match with it in order to be placed in a beginner game where the majority of the 'players' are actually easily exploitable bots.
6 Adding A Subscription Service
Considering how ubiquitous subscription services are nowadays, it's a wonder why it took Fortnite over three years to introduce its own take on the format. Epic Games began offering Fortnite Crew in December 2020 and players get a pretty solid deal for what they are paying for. For 11.99 USD a month, players automatically unlock the current season's battle pass, an exclusive Crew set and 1,000 V-Bucks.
For comparison, buying 1,000 V-Bucks by itself costs 7.99 USD, but does not come with the battle pass (a 950 V-Bucks value) or a full set of cosmetics (generally 3,000 to 5,000 V-Bucks)
5 Party Royale
Party Royale was introduced in Chapter 2, Season 2 as a casual experience for players to just hangout and have fun. It serves as a place to de-stress after serious matches or to give players a social outlet within the game.
However, the biggest appeal of Party Royale is that it is the go-to mode for hosting all of Fortnite's screenings and concerts, and has featured artists like Steve Aoki, Diplo and deadmau5 along with screenings of popular movies, such as Christopher Nolan's Inception and Batman Begins.
4 Crossover Skins
While 2019 saw Fortnite quietly fade into the corner of the public eye, it wasn't until a year later that Epic Games decided to pull out all the stops by releasing an influx of crossover skins, including an entire season dedicated to Marvel's heroes.
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While crossover skins were a thing in Fortnite as early as 2018, it wasn't until Chapter 2, Season 5 that Epic Games managed to get a hold of major franchises like Terminator, Alien and Predator to join the battle royale, along with some of gaming's most iconic characters like Master Chief and Ryu. As it stands now, Fortnite is the most ambitious crossover of all time, and somewhere in the galaxy, Thanos is weeping.
3 Creative
Initially one of its biggest changes at the time, Fortnite introduced its Creative mode at the beginning of Season 7. Since then, Creative has become a staple mode of the game, allowing players to create their own custom maps, levels and games.
Creative eventually became such a big deal that Epic eventually decided to promote it in Fortnite's battle royale mode, offering limited-time challenges and rewards for players who queued up into a game and completed various objectives.
2 In-Game Live Events
Veteran players who look back on the early days of Fortnite will fondly remember a time when the game was just a co-op survival and battle royale game with no strings attached. However, over time, Fortnite began adding a storyline told through major in-game events, typically held at the conclusion of a season, and these events bring in so many viewers that even getting a spot is as difficult as earning a Victory Royale.
Players even got to experience virtual concerts performed by real-life artists. Notably, Fortnite's Marshmello concert and Travis Scott performance both saw upwards of 10 million viewers, cementing Fortnite's reputation in popular culture.
1 Introducing A Brand New Map
Arguably the biggest change in Fortnite is the inclusion of a new map that marked the beginning of Chapter 2. After a mysterious black hole seemingly consumed everything at the conclusion of Season X, fans came up with a variety of theories as to what could happen to the game while it was down.
While the vast majority of the Chapter 2 map was brand new to players at the time, old favorites like Salty Springs and Pleasant Park made a comeback. The introduction of chapters to Fortnite implies that the game will likely be in constant development for a long time, and the possibility of a new map each chapter will keep fans hooked on the game for years to come.